Inès Zeghloul / Photo credits: THOMAS SAMSON / AFP 8:13 a.m., April 2, 2024
After Indre-et-Loire, it is the turn of the departments of Saône-et-Loire and Yonne to be placed on red flood alert. Along the Armançon, near Auxerre, the water rose several meters, blocking certain villages connected by the 905 departmental road, which are now impassable. Everyone is preparing for the worst.
Red alert in Yonne and Côte-d'Or. The two departments have been placed under Météo France's maximum vigilance threshold for floods. Among the rivers which emerge from their beds, the Armançon. This river which borders the Burgundian communes has continued to rise since yesterday, transforming the streets into a maze of water.
Near Auxerre, on the 905 departmental road, there is panic. “We can’t hold back the water, it’s ruined,” looks at a resident dumbfounded. “They are in the process of evacuating a little further down,” she explains to Europe 1. This road, which connects the local towns, is completely impassable. “The road is blocked,” a driver reads on a yellow sign. Here, the water gains ground minute by minute, devouring the sidewalks and the gardens. So in the villages, it's a race against time.
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Prevent water from infiltrating
“We raised everything: the furniture, etc... There, they put a plate to prevent water from seeping in,” explains Anne, resident and head of a company located on the banks of the river. Armançon. But for some, it's already too late. “So there is 50 cm of water. “Everything in the cellar is submerged. Now, there is a pump that will extract the water, hoping that it will be enough...", notes his neighbor. Everyone now has their eyes fixed on these large, threatening clouds. A little further on, the flood peak has reached already three meters high.